The former prime minister, in a tweet, referred to the PDM, which includes the two main coalition government partners the PML-N and the PPP, as a ‘cabal of crooks’, saying they were afraid of his popularity.

The PTI chief has faced a spate of criticism following his comments at a rally in Faisalabad on Sunday, in which he said that the PPP and PML-N leadership were against early elections as they were more interested in the appointment of the next army chief. The current army chief’s tenure ends on November 20.

During the speech, Imran also said that the PML-N and PPP leaders wanted the corruption cases against him to be swept under the carpe, while suggesting that a patriotic army chief would never let such a thing happen.

The statements were condemned by the PPP and PML-N leaders and also resulted in a sharp-worded statement from the military’s media wing over ‘efforts to politicise the process of appointment of the army chief’.

Venue preparations

The public gathering will take place at the Peshawar Ring Road, with preparations almost complete. The stage has been set and chairs lined up. By 6pm, people had started arriving at the venue, including provincial lawmaker Rabia Basri.

“When [Imran] Khan is coming for a public rally, we really don’t need to do much in terms of preparation. People flock to the venue on their own and hang to his every word,” she told Aaj News.